Captain Marvel: Through the Visor's Eye
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Minn-Erva didn't know what Yon-Rogg was thinking, bringing a human into Starforce and making her think she was a kree. He was playing with fire, and this was definitely going to end badly.


**Through the Visor's Eye**

_This is still a terrible idea._

It wasn't as if anyone on this damn planet cared what she thought. Being a member of Starforce apparently only afforded you so many privileges. Yes, she was one of the heroes of the Empire. She had killed dozens of skrulls, and had never shied from putting xandarians in their place. She had made shots deemed impossible by her fellow soldiers. She had never once wavered in her duty. She'd got more stars on her uniform than there were in the skies above Hala. She was, to put it bluntly, among the best of the best.

And right now, that counted for nothing. Right now, she was standing above the training grounds, watching "Vers" struggle against lobotomized chitauri on an obstacle course. Apparently the goal was to make it to the end alive, and do so while keeping her powers under control. As far as the latter objective once, Vers was doing quite well (though how much that could be attributed to willpower as opposed to incompetence, Minn-Erva wasn't sure). As far as the former objective went, she was doing quite poorly.

_Poor thing. _She fingered the trigger of her carbine. _I could just put you out of your misery. _She frowned. _Out of my misery too for that matter._

She winced as she saw one of the aliens swipe at "Vers," drawing green blood. Minn-Erva winced – not so much at the wound, but at the sight of the liquid dribbling from her arm. She knew that the woman's natural blood was red. The universe appeared to favour a kreenoid form, which was why so many species defaulted to the phenotype of two legs, two arms, two eyes. That was constant, even if the colour of the blood wasn't. So "Vers" may look kree. Thanks to some mind tricks, she even thought she was kree. But she wasn't kree, and no amount of green blood would change that. She would, as far as Minn-Erva was concerned, forever be an abomination. The Empire distanced itself from lesser species, and now, one of the lowest of the low was wearing the uniform of Starforce. Even as "Vers" sent dual energy blasts into one of the attacking chitauri, Minn-Erva remained unmoved. Starforce was playing with fire. It had never played with fire before. Fire was directed to species like skrulls and xandarians. Fire was kept at bay, and utilized properly, not put into the hands of a child.

The door to the observation room hissed open. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw who it was and stifled a groan. She'd spoken her part before. Her words had been "duly noted," which experience had taught her was code for "don't give a shit." Until a month ago, she'd trusted Yon-Rogg with her life. Now, that trust didn't even extend as far as she could throw him.

"Minn-Erva."

"Sir."

Which wasn't that far. She was good with her carbine. Physical strength had never been her forte.

"How's our recruit doing?"

_Recruit? More like conscript. _"See for yourself."

He walked over to the plexiglass and smirked as "Vers" ducked under a chitauri's scythe, then blasted it in the stomach. "Better than I thought she would then."

"Oh that's so nice to know. Here was me thinking that she'd actually be struggling."

"Neither of those things aren't mutually exclusive," Yon-Rogg said. "Still, better that she struggle now than later. Better that she has the sense of earning her power without being aware that she carries powers she can scarce dream of."

"Yes, I've heard about the dreams," Minn-Erva said. "How's that going?"

"So far so good."

"What happens when that changes?" She turned to face her commander. "What happens when we go as far as we can with this little game?"

"Excuse me?"

"What happens when your new pet-"

"Stop," said Yon-Rogg.

Minn-Erva did so.

"Choose your next words very carefully," he said.

"You'll let me speak?"

"I will. What you say, and how you say it, will determine a great deal."

_Of course it will. _Minn-Erva took a breath. She knew it was fruitless. Yon-Rogg was her superior, and at least claimed to have the blessing of the Great Intelligence in this little experiment. Yet she had to speak. If she met her doom at the hands of a Terran, then she wanted to die in the knowledge that she'd spoken her piece.

"I think this is a terrible idea," she said.

Yon-Rogg crossed his arms and smirked.

"Does that amuse you?" she asked.

"Oh, it's only that you've told me, I don't know, ten times already. Only three of which were after I gave you permission to speak freely."

"I'd have thought that after my years of service in Starforce-"

"Those years of service are the only reason I'm engaging in this little game," Yon-Rogg said. "So go on. Tell me why it's a terrible idea. Give me a reason compelling enough to take to the Great Intelligence."

"It's dangerous," Minn-Erva said.

"Everything we do is dangerous."

"The power that…_Vers_, contains (just saying the word made her feel ill) can go in one of two ways." She nodded to the woman down below, firing more energy blasts at the chitauri. Her training clothes were torn in a dozen places, her body bruised and bloody. "Option one is that it remains too weak for us to do anything with it. It means that every mission we go on, we'll be taking a child with us."

Yon-Rogg, not giving anything away, asked "and the other option?"

"The other option is that the child down there has a temper tantrum and causes us all to die screaming." She frowned. "Yes, I've read the reports. I've seen the projections. We might as well have a one woman army down there."

"That's a worst case scenario. Or best, if we point her in the right direction."

Minn-Erva held up her rifle. "What is this?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"It's a pulse carbine," she said. "The Mk. V Terrazed-"

"I know its designation Minn-Erva."

"And then you know it's reserved only for the most accomplished of snipers," she said.

"I'm not doubting your skill."

"I'm glad. But tell me – have you ever doubted I would point it in the right direction?"

Yon-Rogg said nothing.

"Do we afford that privilege to any weapon within the empire? Do we usually take the chance that a weapon might turn on us?" She gestured down towards "Vers," who was nearly at the end of the course, even if she was stumbling to make it. "Do we accept anything less than the best of the best for Starforce?"

"No."

"No?" Minn-Erva watched as her commander put a hand to his chin. Was it possible? Might he see the wisdom in this? The insanity in his plan.

"No," he repeated. "We don't."

"Then you-"

"Which is why we'll keep training Vers until she's at the level right for us. Powerful enough to give the skrulls and xandarians terror. Not so powerful that she gives fear to any kree." He nodded at Minn-Erva.

"Are you suggesting I'm afraid?"

"Not at all," he said, smirking. "Well, maybe."

She gripped the carbine tighter.

"I mean, it must be disconcerting, to finally have a rival."

_You son of a bitch._

He patted her on the shoulder. "Chin up Minn-Erva. You might find it enjoyable to be the girl's mentor."

"Excuse me?"

"We'll talk later," he said. He began to walk out of the observation room, making it clear that the conversation was over.

"And is that how you find it?" she shot back. "Enjoyable?"

Just because Yon-Rogg declared the conversation was over, didn't mean it had to be.

"Excuse me?" he asked, turning round.

"Enjoyable," she repeated. "Your whole little experiment. The reason that your pet isn't buried somewhere on C-53."

"You know exactly why I brought her here."

"Oh yes, you told me – something about cosmic powers and being a potential weapon. But I can't help but wonder about your other motives?"

"My what?"

Minn-Erva shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, the poor girl still has nightmares, and I imagine she might want comfort. And after all, humans and kree are almost identical physically. No doubt you've had your fun on Hala, but I can't help but wonder if after visiting C-53 you decided that you might want to sample the goods and-"

It happened fast. One moment, she was talking. The next, she was struggling to breathe as Yogg-Ronn grabbed her by the throat with one arm, and knocked her carbine out of her grip with the other. That, and he forced her to her knees, his eyes as wide as hers.

"You remember what we talked about earlier about speaking freely?" he whispered.

Minn-Erva tried to nod, but it was hard – being strangled had that effect on you.

"Well, that ends today. From this day forth, on the subject of Vers, you no longer get to speak freely. It means that you're going to bite your tongue. It means you're going to help Vers with any assistance she requires. It means that when you're on the field, and you're seeing her slaughter the enemies of the Kree Empire, you're going to not say anything, but just stay put and continue to act as a sniper. Because that's what you're good at Minn-Erva. And you can stay good, as long as you remember your place." He paused. "You do know your place don't you Minn-Erva?"

She tried to speak, but only a rasp came out.

"Didn't quite catch that, sorry."

"Ye…yes…" she whispered.

He released her as quickly as he'd grabbed her. Both hands free, a smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye.

"Very good. I'm glad we had this conversation." He looked out the window. "And would you look at that. Vers has completed the training course."

_Good for her. _Minn-Erva stumbled to her feet, still gasping for breath.

"Go down and thank her Minn-Erva. It's what good team mates do."

She stood there, glaring at him.

"I mean, you wouldn't disobey an order from your commanding officer would you?"

Still glaring at him, she nevertheless picked up her rifle and walked past him, heading for the staircase that would take her down to the training area. A thousand words were on the tip of her tongue. But she had to keep silent. For now at least.

_This is going to end badly Yon-Rogg. _She frowned, and quickened her pace down the stairs. _This was a mistake. And I hope I'm there when you realize that._

Six years later, she got her wish.


End file.
